• Journal of Korean Clinical Health Science
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.35-45
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• 2013

Purpose. Based on the comparison and analysis with those of United States, the aim of this research is to find the problems in current management, operation and future directions of emergency medical service (EMS) fund in S. Korea and to provide basic resources and appropriate measures to make a right decision in policies for EMS fund. Methods. Data from Ministry of Health and Welfare and other various sources during 1995 to 2012 were collected and analyzed. Results. From our analyses, several problems are identified in EMS fund operation. In brief, problems discerned are as follows. First, whereas the purpose and direction of EMS fund operations in United States are highlighted and focused on pre-hospital EMS system and associated infrastructures which need to be constructed, those of S. Korea are emphasized mainly on the in-hospital EMS system so far. Second, on the contrary to the fact that the EMS funds in United States are tuned to pre-hospital EMS system to provide prompt and efficient emergency care at the emergency scene of pre-hospital stage and to achieve the development, design, planning and demonstration projects for pre-hospital EMS systems, up to date, our investment of EMS funds demonstrated an excess biased inclination toward the construction of in-hospital EMS system, which is far from the realization of constructive and vital pre-hospital infrastructures. Third, while emergency medical technician is important and principal body in the management of emergency medical funds in United States, so far, no EMS funds in S. Korea existed for EMTs including the job condition, improved treatment and working environment for them. Conclusion. In conclusion, we strongly suggest that the problems pointed out must be revised and corrected. Current usage of EMS fund needs to be redirected predominatly to pre-hospital EMS system. Otherwise, unless current management and investment of emergency medical funds in S. Korea are applied and used for the vital necessities and demands of EMTs, public EMS units and private EMS units as well as related units in pre-hospital EMS system as in the cases of United States, in our consideration, they must be suspended or abolished.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.95-104
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to investigate differences in initial patient states based on types of burn accidents in the pre-hospital stage. 1,223 items of transfer data from burn accidents of Gyeonggi-do emergency medical services in 2013 were used. Burn accidents were most common in children younger than 10 years old (26.0%) and happened mostly at home (51.3%). Patient states by burn type were stable on average, but burns by electricity showed 10.7% of awareness condition U (Unresponsive), which was higher than that of the other burn types. Initial patient states for this type were shown to be serious, unlike other burn types, with temperatures of $35.90^{\circ}C$ and third degree burn depth (39.28%). Understanding initial patient states based on burn type is necessary in order to do effective approach in the pre-hospital stage.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.128-134
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• 2016

The ambulance service time interval, in particular the response time, has been used as an important indicator for the quality control of ambulance services in that it can be improved to increase the probability of survival and decrease the sequela-related disability. Based on the 2011~2014 Prehospital Care Reports in a metropolitan city, this study analyzed the time interval of ambulance services considering the patient's characteristics and chief complaints. If the definition of the time of ambulance services can be refined further, and a variety of economic and social factors and local characteristics would can be analyzed, the quality of the ambulance service is expected to be enhanced significantly.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2024

The aim of this paper was to review the biomechanics of knife injuries, including those that occur during stabbing rampages. In knife stab attacks, axial force and energy were found to be 1,885 N and 69 J, respectively. The mean velocity of a stabbing motion has been reported to range from 5 to 10 m/sec, with knife motions occurring between 0.62 and 1.07 seconds. This speed appears to surpass the defensive capabilities of unarmed, ordinarily trained law enforcement officers. Therefore, it is advisable to maintain a minimum distance of more than an arm's length from an individual visibly armed with a knife. In training for knife defense, particularly in preparation for close-quarter knife attacks, this timing should be kept in mind. Self-inflicted stab wounds exhibited a higher proportion of wounds to the neck and abdomen than assault wounds. Injuries from assault wounds presented a higher Injury Severity Score, but more procedures were performed on self-inflicted stab wounds. Wound characteristics are not different between nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal self-wrist cutting injuries. Consequently, trauma surgeons cannot determine a patient's suicidal intent based solely on the characteristics of the wound. In Korea, percent of usage of lethal weapon is increasing. In violence as well as murders, the most frequently used weapon is knife. In the crimes using knife, 4.8% of victims are killed. Therefore, the provision of prehospital care by an emergency medical technician is crucial.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.74-78
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• 2024

Inferior vena cava (IVC) injuries can have fatal outcomes and are associated with high mortality rates. Patients with IVC injuries require multiple procedures, including prehospital care, surgical techniques, and postoperative care. We present the case of a 67-year-old woman who stabbed herself in the abdomen with a knife, resulting in an infrarenal IVC injury. We shortened the transfer time by transporting the patient using a helicopter and decided to perform direct-to-operating room resuscitation by a trauma physician in the helicopter. The patient underwent laparotomy with IVC ligation for damage control during the first operation. The second- and third-look operations, including previous suture removal, IVC reconstruction, and IVC thrombectomy, were performed by a trauma surgeon specializing in cardiovascular diseases. The patient was discharged without major complications on the 19th postoperative day with rivaroxaban as an anticoagulant medication. Computed tomography angiography at the outpatient clinic showed that thrombi in the IVC and both iliac veins had been completely removed. Patients with IVC injuries can be effectively treated using a trauma system that includes fast transportation by helicopter, damage control for rapid hemostasis, and expert treatment of IVC injuries.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.374-380
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• 2017

In this study, we analyzed the situation of the 119 emergency medical service zone of H town, countryside of Y city from January 1st, 2015 to December 31st, 2016 and then, on the basis of this analysis, we investigated the present condition of the patient-transportation service of the 119 emergency medical service to provide the basic data in order for patients to use the emergency medical service more efficiently. We analyzed the data with SPSS 21.0 using frequency analysis and, after positioning the virtual 119 emergency medical service, we analyzed the data of the transportation time and transportation distance by using GIS. The results of this study show that the use of the 119 emergency medical service for people over 65 years old represents approximately 57% of the total number of patients transported, The average distance and time of the real moving reaction are 6.41 km and 11.86 min, respectively. The distance and time from the pick-up location to the hospital are 18.24 km and 21.52 min, respectively. Given the present position of the 119 emergency medical service, the results of this analysis using GPS show that the (average) distance and time from the 119 emergency medical service to Jang * Ri town are 9.12 km and 12 min, and the (average) total distance and time to arrive at the hospital after the emergency medical service picks up the patient are 36.83 km and 62 min, respectively. In the case of the virtual emergency medical service, the total distance and time required to arrive at the hospital after the emergency medical service picks up the patient are 27.71km and 50min, respectively. The results of this study showed that the present position of the 119 emergency service does not provide the optimum distance and time from the patient's location to the hospital. Therefore, we consider that the repositioning of the 119 emergency medical center is necessary, in order to reduce the time required for the emergency medical service to move to the patient's location and then bring the patient to the hospital.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.41-54
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• 2007

Background : The causes of chest pain vary but the leading cause of chest pain is ischemic heart disease. Mortality from ischemic chest pain has increased more than two fold over the last ten years. The purpose of this study was to determine the data necessary for rapid treatment of patients with signs and symptoms of ischemic chest pain in the emergency department (ED). Materials and Methods : We interviewed 170 patients who had ischemic chest pain in the emergency department of Yeungnam University Hospital over 6 months with a protocol developed for the evaluation. The protocol used included gender, age, arriving time, prior hospital visits, methods of transportation to the hospital, past medical history, final diagnosis, and outcome information from follow up. Results : Among 170 patients, there were 118 men (69.4%) and the mean age was 63 years. The patients diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were 106 (62.4%) and with angina pectoris (AP) were 64 (37.6%). The patients who had visited another hospital were 68.8%, twice the number that came directly to this hospital (p<0.05). The ratio of patients who visited another hospital were higher for the AMI (75.5%) than the AP (59.4%) patients (p<0.05). The median time spent deciding whether to go to hospital was 521 minutes and for transportation was 40 minutes. With regard to patients that visited another hospital first, the median time spent at the other hospital was 40 minutes. The total median time spent before arriving at our hospital was 600 minutes (p>0.05). The patients who had a total time delay of over 6 hours was similar 54.8% in the AMI group and 57.9% in the AP group (p>0.05). As a result, only 12.2% of the patients with an AMI received thrombolytics, and 48.8% of them had a simultaneous percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In the emergency department 8.5% of the patients with an AMI died. Conclusion : Timing is an extremely important factor for the treatment of ischemic heart disease. Most patients arrive at the hospital after a long time lapse from the onset of chest pain. In addition, most patients present to a different hospital before they arrive at the final hospital for treatment. Therefore, important time is lost and opportunities for treatment with thrombolytics and/or PCI are diminished leading to poor outcomes for many patients in the ED. The emergency room treatment must improve for the identification and treatment of ischemic heart disease so that patients can present earlier and treatment can be started as soon as they present to an emergency room.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.451-455
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• 2003

In August 2000, the American Heart Association and the European Resuscitation Council published the conclusions of tile International Guidelines 2000 Conference on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care which contains both the new recommendations and an in-depth review. The most important changes in the recommendations according to the authors are discontinuation of the pulse-check for lay people, 500 ml instead of 800∼1,200 ml tidal volume during bag-valve-mask ventilation (FiO2 > 0.4) of a patient with an unprotected airway, unifying correct endotracheal intubation size as 8.0 mm, vasopressin (40 units) and epinephrine (1 mg) as comparable drugs to treat patients with ventricular fibrillation, early prehospital survey and intravenous lysis for patients who have suffered coronary artery syndrome and stroke.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.482-492
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• 2016

Purpose This study is to investigate regional characteristics of 119 ambulance dispatch and the relationship between the distance and response time to the scene. Methods This study was retrospectively conducted 119 running sheets with 1,321 patients who had been transferred to the hospital by 119 ambulance during ambulance attendant training. The training was performed at two, five and three fire station in Seoul, Daejeon and Chungnam respectively, from June 24, 2013 to July 19, 2014. Results Almost the emergency medical services provided were no more than basic first aid in all regions. The patients transferred by 119 ambulance in Seoul were more than other region. The time of call to scene and scene to hospital were the slowest in Chungnam. The major reason of call 119 was due to disease in Seoul and Daejeon, however due to injury in Chungnam. Conclusion Our study suggests that learning from ambulance attendant training course could diverse from region to region. It is, therefore, needed that standardization of ambulance attendant training course, appropriate logistics and resource allocation for providing universal quality of emergency medical services.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.477-485
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• 2020

This study is a random allocation similar experimental study to compare and analyze the difference in BVM (Bag-Valve-Mask) ventilation volume according to the characteristics of the rescuer's hand and the type of mask using a standardized mannequin. To this end, the Basic Life Resuscitation Education Center of D University in gwangju. Recruiting 39 students who have completed the basic resuscitation course for emergency medical personnel and the Korean-style specialized cardiac rescue course, In addition to measuring the physical characteristics of the hand, the average amount of ventilation per minute using a bag-mask was measured and analyzed. As a result, the type of mask that was not most affected by the characteristics of the hand and provided adequate Minute Ventilation was the soft type (tube, silicone) mask. On the other hard (tube, silicone) masks were found to be unsuitable for general use as they were greatly affected by the characteristics of workers' hands. COVID-19 is currently increasing the risk of transmission to paramedics and patients. Considering this situation, the universal use of a semi-permanent hard-type mask, which is disadvantageous not only for preventing infection but also for proper ventilation, should be avoided. In addition to the ease of use, it should be actively utilized in the field by supplying a soft type mask that can provide stable ventilation even with 'predominance recognition' and proper ventilation.